Hispanic woman gave me a ride from Gustine to Santa Nella and a few bucks for coffee (bought a Monster Energy drink instead)

Elderly man gave me a free pair of gloves in Los Banos

Bad Luck Stuff:

Put my Birth Certificate in a book to keep it safe which I ditched to make my load lighter in Oregon and didn't notice until after I left Redding, CA

accidentally left my beanie in Redding, CA - had it replaced with one of equal quality in Sacramento, which canceled that bit of bad luck

Lost one glove on the side of I-5 South of Stockton - had it replaced in Los Banos, CA by a new pair of gloves which are nicer, which canceled that bit of bad luck

Spent 2-3 days going back and forth on old country roads south of Stockton, CA without running into a single town until I made my way to a truck stop, lined up with I-5 and the rising and setting of the sun and found my way through 4-6 towns within a 24 hour period

Good Luck Stuff:

Found 2 dollar bills on the ground on my way out South from Redding to Sacramento

found a baggy of pot on the ground while working my way through the old country roads South of Stockton, and a bottle of Tennessee Honey Whiskey (travel size, but still appreciated)

Found a blanket, box of chocolates and a few bucks in change around Sacramento

Found joint roaches everywhere in Redding while picking up cigarette butts to keep myself in tobacco

Found a scratch ticket worth 5 dollars on the ground of a gas station parking lot South of Stockton

Found a box in Stockton with free books - picked up Brad Thor's 'Assassin' because his book 'Blowback' was well-written and I liked it, and Yvonne Whittal's 'A Moment in Time', a romance, which I surprisingly enjoyed reading because it had a good story and a lot of same elements of an adventure

Found a book in the Redding Mission that someone left, 'Cockatiels at Seven', and borrowed it to read it. Similarly a good read.

Gratitude is important, isn't it, and no matter what anyone says, every little bit helps along the way.You may at times feel more enriched than people who have everything and don't appreciate it.

SAPERE AUDE!

If I thought that everything I did was determined by my circumstancse and my psychological condition, I would feel trapped.

What we take ourselves to be doing when we think about what is the case or how we should act is something that cannot be reconciled with a reductive naturalism, for reasons distinct from those that entail the irreducibility of consciousness. It is not merely the subjectivity of thought but its capacity to transcend subjectivity and to discover what is objectively the case that presents a problem....Thought and reasoning are correct or incorrect in virtue of something independent of the thinker's beliefs, and even independent of the community of thinkers to which he belongs.

To be or not to be was the choice as proclaimed by shakespeare, but is it a choice?

Wouldn't you say that it is ~~ even based on the fact that we may not realize unconsciously ALL of the reasons we've made that choice. YOU yourself make that choice "to be" everyday in which you wake up and decide to continue on though some would never make your choice "to be" - you're still living and it may not be as bad as some think, considering how miserable some think of their life which is far removed from your own ~ yet you continue on.

Do we really have the choice to not be?

If you're speaking of suicide here, who can say for sure? I remember a time when, though I can't ever see myself killing myself, there were a few moments (figuratively speaking) when I came to understand or close to understanding how some might want to take their own life. Is it a choice? They say that freedom is when we have nothing left to lose. Perhaps this is when we make our choice.

So I suppose that I would say that we do have a choice but when we've come too close to that black hole, perhaps there can be no going back.

I think that we also make the choice "to not be" in particular moments ~ not suicide wise but when we refuse to continue on with courage...when we only see gloom and the doom, which is natural. After all, we are not gods but human flesh and blood. Sometimes it does take a great deal of courage and stick-to-it-iveness to continue on - along with a grudging OK to life.

SAPERE AUDE!

If I thought that everything I did was determined by my circumstancse and my psychological condition, I would feel trapped.

What we take ourselves to be doing when we think about what is the case or how we should act is something that cannot be reconciled with a reductive naturalism, for reasons distinct from those that entail the irreducibility of consciousness. It is not merely the subjectivity of thought but its capacity to transcend subjectivity and to discover what is objectively the case that presents a problem....Thought and reasoning are correct or incorrect in virtue of something independent of the thinker's beliefs, and even independent of the community of thinkers to which he belongs.

How can you choose not to be when you're already here? Not in terms of suicide, but the ever-governing question to exist or not to exist and to realize that you had no choice isn't a fair realization, but neither is it fair for people to be able to run from the truth of it and do so much damage while trying not to be and trying to resist the fact that they exist and interact and cause things to happen all the same.

“We hide in plain sight, and it works. Majestically. Everyone else can fuck the fuck off.”

You know, it took me years of working on my patience to finally realize that I was just distracting myself with other things to pass the time. I was like, 'technically, that's not being patient at all.'

“We hide in plain sight, and it works. Majestically. Everyone else can fuck the fuck off.”

Some Guy in History wrote:How can you choose not to be when you're already here? Not in terms of suicide, ....

Outside of the realm of suicide, choosing NOT TO BE for me (what I was referring to) is about simply existing like a rock or a vegetable, just being in a way where life is lived without being fully conscious or self aware, like a leaf blowing in the wind; where life holds very little meaning or purpose, and where it is basically just a drudge and something to be experienced at its lowest level of consciousness or almost at that level.

Granted, as humans, there ARE times when things occur when we may be tempted to let go and fall into this trap or actually do come to fall into this trap ~ we all have our tipping point ~ but the human spirit is capable of being transcendent if we can just realize this.

and the ever-governing question to exist or not to exist realize that you had no choice isn't a fair realization,

I'm not sure what you're saying here. Are you saying that you disagree with the assumption that "having no choice" is valid - that it is an unfair and dishonest perception? at least at a particular time...

but neither is it fair for people to be able to run from the truth of it and do so much damage while trying not to be and trying to resist the fact that they exist and interact and cause things to happen all the same

I agree with you. Unfortunately, we all have different levels of consciousness. Are we all capable of having the same level of it? If I say that I just didn't realize that this would happen, what is it that determines my level of responsibility toward something which happened? Can it be the same for everyone insofar as realizing the consequences which a particular behavior might have?

SAPERE AUDE!

If I thought that everything I did was determined by my circumstancse and my psychological condition, I would feel trapped.

What we take ourselves to be doing when we think about what is the case or how we should act is something that cannot be reconciled with a reductive naturalism, for reasons distinct from those that entail the irreducibility of consciousness. It is not merely the subjectivity of thought but its capacity to transcend subjectivity and to discover what is objectively the case that presents a problem....Thought and reasoning are correct or incorrect in virtue of something independent of the thinker's beliefs, and even independent of the community of thinkers to which he belongs.

But you misunderstand a vegetable at that point if you think they just do nothing while existing. It's an impossibility to be alive, awake and aware and do absolutely nothing. Fucking impossible. Even without being awake or aware, that vegetable changed the world for being in it.

You call it the human spirit and it being the only one able to transcend and I tell you some vegetables have already transcended beyond you. Cut ego and pride out of the way.

I'm saying that you exist anyway. Your choice in the matter becomes an inconsequential thing except in terms of the damage you do before realizing just what it means to exist. You have no choice, as in, you existed before ever realizing that it could be a choice or that you could make a choice either way. You will still exist even if you choose not to.

We are all of us reading from the same book, different chapters, different pages; different perceptions and perspectives; but all the same book. Just got to defrag the mind like a computer and put in cliff notes and connecting ties between relevant material and take into account all the children that want to play and want attention, us included. Roll with the punches, surf the storms of life; etc., etc. The sad part is that these things mean absolutely nothing until they click with relevant material in your own life experiences.

“We hide in plain sight, and it works. Majestically. Everyone else can fuck the fuck off.”

But you misunderstand a vegetable at that point if you think they just do nothing while existing. It's an impossibility to be alive, awake and aware and do absolutely nothing. Fucking impossible. Even without being awake or aware, that vegetable changed the world for being in it.

Point taken. I agree with you on all three levels in a manner of speaking but I was speaking about sentience/consciousness though.

You call it the human spirit and it being the only one able to transcend and I tell you some vegetables have already transcended beyond you. Cut ego and pride out of the way.

So tell me. What vegetables have already transcended beyond me? Why would I be indulging in ego and pride to think of myself as more than a cucumber or a head of cabbage?

I'm saying that you exist anyway. Your choice in the matter becomes an inconsequential thing except in terms of the damage you do before realizing just what it means to exist

.

The other side of that coin is in terms of what good we humans also do.

You have no choice, as in, you existed before ever realizing that it could be a choice or that you could make a choice either way. You will still exist even if you choose not to.

But that's obvious. It goes without saying. But we do have the choice in deciding whether or not we wished it happened at all...not that that could change anything...except for the decision to end it all.

We are all of us reading from the same book, different chapters, different pages; different perceptions and perspectives; but all the same book.

I'm not so sure that that is true but I suppose that you're speaking about The Book of life?Does that make a difference though? You probably like certain books that I do not like and visa versa.But I do see your point. There is also that perspective.

Just got to defrag the mind like a computer

The brain may be similar to the computer but it isn't that easy going about trying to defrag the mind.What steps do you use to do that?

and put in cliff notes and connecting ties between relevant material and take into account all the children that want to play and want attention, us included. Roll with the punches, surf the storms of life; etc., etc. The sad part is that these things mean absolutely nothing until they click with relevant material in your own life experiences.

Why is that so sad? You did say the below:

We are all of us reading from the same book, different chapters, different pages; different perceptions and perspectives; but all the same book

We're all at different stages of the journey and we get there following different paths along the way.Would you take a shortcut to get somewhere? Would you take a shortcut by advancing from path A to G or would you take every step and alphabetical path along the way to get to where you will eventually get?

If I thought that everything I did was determined by my circumstancse and my psychological condition, I would feel trapped.

What we take ourselves to be doing when we think about what is the case or how we should act is something that cannot be reconciled with a reductive naturalism, for reasons distinct from those that entail the irreducibility of consciousness. It is not merely the subjectivity of thought but its capacity to transcend subjectivity and to discover what is objectively the case that presents a problem....Thought and reasoning are correct or incorrect in virtue of something independent of the thinker's beliefs, and even independent of the community of thinkers to which he belongs.

Point taken. I agree with you on all three levels but I was speaking about sentience/consciousness though.

So was I.

So tell me. What vegetables have already transcended beyond me?Why would I be indulging in ego and pride to think of myself as more than a cucumber or a head of cabbage?

You vegetable racist, putting them all on the same level as their group names. It's like, which black man is more smarter than me? That's what you just fucking asked. Let me rub your nose in the shit you just took on the carpet.

The other side of that coin is in terms of what good we humans also do.

Humans do good? Could have fooled me.

But that's obvious. It goes without saying.

That's the problem, it's gone without being said for too long.

“We hide in plain sight, and it works. Majestically. Everyone else can fuck the fuck off.”